southern lit

2006-05-04T16:49:00.000-07:00

I remember seeing the movie Bastard Out of Carolina one time on tv, the book is definitly different. I really enjoyed the book, although I did find it kind of disturbing at times. I just don't know what would ever make a mother choose her husband of that time over her own child. I know her husband died and what not, but the father of Resse is who her heart really belonged too. I just feel like she only thinks she loves Daddy Glen because he gives her what she wants, the "love" and attention that she has desired her whole life. To me it is very sad how a man can come between a grown woman and her own baby. I feel so sorry for Bone because she really truly loves her mother, as most people do, and she is nothing but abused by her emotionally. That poor girl will probably grow up to be just like her mother becasue that is all that she had known for so long. It really made me mad when reading about how Daddy Glen not only abused her but sexually abused her as well. She must feel such devestation from all of those around her becasue she has no one. Now, with Resse, I know from a class discussion someone had said that she masterbaited because maybe she had seen what Daddy Glen had done to her sister, but why wouldnt she tell her mother seeing all of the pain that her sister goes through? Was it plain old fear? I'm not sure. In the movie if anyone has seen it the beatings that Bone gets just make you cringe and the sexual abuse scenes do as well. But when I read them, I did not think it would affect me as much, but it did. It is such a sad thing in general. I dont like the part in the book when Bones mom comes to her aunts to talk to her and tells her she loves her but then just abandons her. How is that love?? Espaically for your own child. I felt like Anne could take care of herself and her children better before she meet Daddy Glen, but once she got so infactuated with him and all of the "wonderful" things she felt she just thought about herself and put her babies on the back burner. I just don't understand it. All in all, the book was good. I recomend te movie as well for those of you who didn't watch it, although it is different from the book, I'd still give it a try.

southern lit

2006-04-27T22:06:00.000-07:00

As I have been reading the book "Bastard Out of Carolina" the once major theme that stuck out to me, the one that we have talked about the whole semister, was family. The men in her family have this aire about them acting very masculine at times. A prime example of this is on the top of page 23,"My aunts treated my uncles love overgrown boys-rambunctions teenagers whose antics were more to be joked about than worried over-and they seemed to think of themselves that way too." Another passage that stuck out to me to about completment what I said about the men and their masculinity is on the same page, page 23 in the middle of the page. " Men couls do anything, and everything they did, no matter how violent or mistaken, was viewed with humor and understanding."It has been suprising to me this whole semister learning the different ways and manorisms some people had back in that time period. Some of their actions hoestly boggle my mind. I really can't help but wonder how I would be living in that time period for even a day. I know I have said that before, but it always crosses my mind!

southern lit

2006-04-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

The presentations were good, as I have said in my previous blogg. All of the information that was presented to the class was very informative and interesting. As far as the reading that we had to do, "Revelation", was OK. It was funny to see how much Mrs. Turpin contrdicted herself with many isuuses. Such as, when she was talking about how the african american people dont pick cotton anymore, then she goes to say that afican americans are nice....just things of that sort is what I find cintradicting. The reading was alright, not my favorite and not something I would want to read again.

southern lit

2006-04-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

So far, I thought that all of the presentations were very interesting. It is hard to keep an audiences attention and I was paying great attention to everyone's that i saw so far because of the ways you all presented everything. I thought it was interesting finding out about Southern food, and especially eating it. Also, the Maya Angelou presentation was great. I didn't know much about her besides the fact that she had card and trinkets in Hallmark. It was a real eye opener for me. I liked the presentation on the family life as well. The extended and nuculear family stuff. It is def true that down south they have their whole fmaily get together. I know for a fact, not only from the presentation but freinds that live down south as well, that family is their biggest thing down there. Not to say that it's not important up North, but to get together with your whole family every weekend not just holidays must be nice. I also liked the presentation on Rosewood. The movie looks really good. Although I was confused about the lady getting beat, your group did an awesome job explaining it better to me. I think that all thge groups did a great job so far! I can say I am very nervous!!!

southern lit

2006-04-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

I really enjoyed reading "A Good Man is Hard to Find". With the class discusion on Monday it opened my eyes on the story more. I really like the communitcation between Grandmother and the MIsfit. I really felt like when I was reading it, that the Misfit wasn't going to kill at least her. Maybe her family but I didn't think she was going to die as well. I guess in talking about it more in depth in class, eberyone made me see the signs that told everyone else that he was going to kill her. As we were talking about on Monday, I am so curious to know if she hadn't said who he really was if they would have lived, becasue what would he and his freinds gotten out of killing all of them if they really hadn't known who they were?
I think in looking at the realationships in this short story is also interesting to the story. It seems as if they are not very connected and are just a family becasue they kind of have to be. I may have just forgotten but, I was wondering why no one was going crazy and crying after hearing their fmaily member being shot? Becasue they clearly were takin to the woods to get killed. So to me, that showed that they family was not very connected emontionally. I also don't like how the family thinks of the Gradmothers as sort of a burden. I know she is old and possibly weighs them down, but she seems to be more connected to each family member more so than anyone else in the family.
I enjoyed this story. It was pretty easy to follow and something a little bit different. It had a kinf of sad ending...although most of our works have, to me there was just a different feel to it.

southern lit

2006-03-21T20:41:00.000-08:00

In class on Monday I feel like the discussion was really intense. Everyone had thier own views on what they thought the book was about, and others agreed yet had a twist of their own thoughts in it. I was really interested in the conversation. Like I said in class, I thought of this book as kind of a way to scare the audience that it was intended to for in that time period(women). I mean, it's kind of a negitive way to look at the story, and maybe that's not that way Hurston wanted people to think of her storty, but after analyzing so many other works, that idea popped into my mind. I mean, Janie is such a strong willed, brave women who kid of defies the defiintion of a proper women in that day and I feel like even today some women don't have the type of indepence Janie did. She built her indepence through out the story and finally figured out what she wanted after trying to please Nannie her whole life. I think that if i were a an African American women, or even a white women in that day, I would not leave my husband because I would be scared of the world around me. I would feel that I couldn't make it without a man, and that I needed to take orders from a man. I think I would only think that becuase that is what women were taught to think, but non the less, I would be scared to leave my husband. I love how rebellious Janie is though. She does not care what anyone thinks after Naiie dies. She wants what she wants and she makes it happen. Thats awesome! She doesn't care when the town talks about her and that is not something women of that time would do. Most women looked to what people thought of them and molded to what they had too, even if it's something they didn't believe in. I look up to Hurston for making such a different and rebellious character!

southern lit

2006-02-28T16:14:00.000-08:00

Some of the things we discussed in class this week were the common themes between the stories or books we have read. There were many pointed out such as interacial relationships, the masculinity as well as how African Americans seem to be portrayed as animalistic. That is what gets to me the most. I hate that people today still do this. Perhaps not as much, but I think it should not be done at all. What makes an African American person so different than us and how is it that people find it as second nature to compare there race to animals? I don't see the logic behind this at all. Like in the exerpt we just read....the little African American baby was said to look like a little monkey. I do not think I have ever heard of someone asking to see a white baby and calling it a monkey or any animal for that matter. It makes me really mad. I feel like I want to say sorry becasue if I were African American this would hurt me more than it already does. I mean every race has there good and bad people but a color doesn't make someone bad. I just don't like how all these authors can just throw that around like it is nothing and not offensive to anyone. I guess maybe they are trying to show us what it was like back in that time period? I don't know....I just don't like it.

southern lit

2006-02-21T15:06:00.000-08:00

I am not a big fan of this book and can not wait until it is over!!! Faulkner's writing style is not for me thats for sure. I really don't like all the little details that he makes the reader recall to get the whole story! I find it difficult...but that could just be me! The Bear was a slightly enjoyable read however. (I use enjoyable losely though) It shows the reader that Boon isn't just a big, dumb alcoholic. It shows me that he has feelings and can identify with something that is pretty much human. (The dog) I think it shows that he is kind of needy like the rest of the world in that he shares a bed with the big dog and likes to be with him. It is kind of sad that it s a dog that he shows his love too so much, but it is better than nothing. Like we discussed in class, I think Boon best relates with the dog becasue he is kind of like him. He isn't that most responsible character in the story, and we all know animals obviously are not responible for anything. But I do like how Boon actually take responsibilty for the dog, it shows that he is still human. I think Lion is a good thing for Boon and it is sad that he had to die.

southern lit

2006-02-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

To me "Go Down Moses" is a very difficult book to understand as I am reading it. It is much easier understood as we discuss it, but when I am sitting there by meself, I find myself confused. The family connections are what make it hard to follow for me over all I think. When we got the questions today in class that helped a lot as well, although I had no idea that this book was supposed to be a comedy. To me it really isn't funny. Like we talked about in class, I don't see how someone has the power to hold the fate of another person by just playing a simple game of poker. That boggles my mind. Another thing that I find hard to believe is how a grown man does not have the ability to make his own decsions. I know that he is a slave, but how can one tell another being that they can not go see the person they love? I hate how to the white men in this book, that the lives of African American men is a game to them, and like a joke. Another thing I absolutly hate is the "N" word. I don't like at all how people use it to degreat the race. I feel that it is disrespectful and just plain old mean. I guess as the book goes on it'll get better and easier to read, hopefully anyway. As of now i'm not to crazy about it.

Fredrick Douglas discussion

2006-01-30T17:43:00.000-08:00

Today in class we talked about the exerpt from Fredrick Douglas. There are so many things that fill my heart with saddness when hearing about the things he saw and experienced. Sometimes I think my life is bad when I'm having a bad day, but I honestly couldn't imagine having my mother taken away from me when I was so young. I don't know how he delt with that and was the person he bacame. I am eduacated on slavery, but I have never really thought about some of the things we discussed. I would not be able to sit back and watch as a familymemeber got whipped. I'm sure that was difficult for him to do. It must have also been hard for him to know that his father was a white slave owner and wanted nothing to do with him or his mother. It also makes me really sad thinking about the female slaves and them being sexually absued. I feel like their life was bad enough and everything was taken from them as it was, so why did the white men feel they had to take that from them as well. I am so greatful that I did not live in that time period becasue I think people would have looked down on me because I would have been freinds with African Americans and help educate them as well. The way slaves were treated was like animals. They didn't even have beds to sleep on, where Fredrick Douglas was anyway, which i'm sure it was like that all over. All in all, the whole subject of slavery and racisim makes me sad.

Diverse Voices in Southern Lit

2006-01-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

At the begining of class we discussed the differences between the North and the South. I found this very interesting becasue I have experienced life in the South for the summer and many more summers to come. I found that things down South are much slower and people are not always in a rush like people seem to be in the North. The freinds that I have down there are very family oriented. I thought my family was, but seeing that they do almost everything together makes me see the differences of that nature. I don't mean to say that Southerns are racist, but from my own personal experiences I have heard more racial comments and seen more confederate flags then I had ever seen in my life. This actaully was upsetting to me becasue I didn't think people still had those views. In talking to some of my southern freinds it is obvious that they do view African Americans as differnt beings. It honestly disgusts me. I think that in a way, some southerns are iggnoant because white people can be the same way the view African Americans. Not only do they make comments on African Americans, but on Notherns as well. To them we are known as "Yankees" or "Yanks". This doesnt offend me in anyway when I am down there and people use those words in a negitive way towards me. I'm proud to be a Notherner and I do find myself defending that fact. Another difference that was not discussed during class that I have noticed about my southern freinds, is that some of them seen to be stuck inside a box. They are so set on their ways, and are scared to try new things, where as in the North I think we tend to be more openminded and think outside the box. Some of them believe that what they think it always right from my experiences. Wether it's religous beliefs or racial beliefs, or something as simple as foods we eat in the North. Soeme southerns are just stuck inside a box. I don't mean to say this with any bad intetnions or to put the south down by any means. All in all, the South is very different than the face paced North!

Diverse Voices in Southern Lit

2006-01-27T16:37:00.000-08:00

Diverse Voices in Southern Lit

my first blog

2006-01-22T18:50:00.000-08:00

This is my first blog, hopefully it works!!!! Can't wait to start blogging!!!!